Flybe interested in buying Cimber Sterling

The UK-based airline Flybe has expressed an interest in buying the bankrupt Danish airline Cimber Sterling, the Finnish public broadcaster YLE has revealed. What the regional airline has its eye on are Cimber’s fleet of ATR aircraft, which could be used for short-haul flights between Denmark and other Nordic cities or Germany. Flybe has already entered the Nordic and Baltic market by setting up joint venture Flybe Nordic in cooperation with Finnair.“We see this as an opportunity to extend our plans in Denmark,” Fred Kochak, Flybe’s head of marketing for Europe, told YLE. “It is part of our plan to become the market leader of the region.”However, Flybe has an uphill task. Three other regional carriers, Skyways, DAT and Jet Time, are interested in Cimber Sterling too. And, as reported by TTG Nordic, Flybe is expected to post a loss of around €10.65 million for 2012. In the wake of a sharp fall in the UK domestic market, it is aiming at a bigger slice of the European regional market, including the Nordic countries. It hopes to raise revenues by flying more planes under contract for bigger carriers.Reuters[pictured: Flybe Bombardier Q400; courtesy Flybe]